Home
by GravityFactor
Summary: Frisk was an infant when she first appeared in the Ruins. For reasons unknown, her parents left her alone by Mt. Ebott and with the help of a certain flower, she arrived, only to be found soon after by Sans and Papyrus. Ever since that day, she was raised by the two skeleton brothers, living unaware about her true heritage. Undertale AU (Cover Art created by me)


~ Chapter 1: The Funny Lady Behind the Door ~

It was a marvel how snow could fall in the Underground. The ceiling was invisible to any sort of sky or time of day. Yet from the infinite span of darkness, devoid of clouds and color, the soft white flakes coated the ground, one by one gathering into a massive pile of snow. None of the monsters questioned this impossible wonder, for they were content upon living their lives to second best. Even Sans the Skeleton, who gazed upwards from his sentry station, his permanent smile ever present as each snowflake fell past his line of sight.

It was common knowledge that skeletons couldn't feel the cold. But Sans came to the Snowdin Forest, wearing a large blue jacket over his white t-shirt. The top of his feather hood waved softly in the small breeze, tickling Sans cheek every minute or so. He lifted up his ketchup bottle to his teeth, squeezing the contents through an open slit and swallowed with a satisfying gulp. This was an effective technique when he didn't want to open his mouth.

Sans looked down at his station, setting his bottle down before turning his left hand towards him. He contemplated silently at a non-existent wrist watch and his white pupils glistened with glee.

"Guess it's time for my break, huh?" Sans chuckled and got up from his seat, walking around his station with his hands in his pockets. "Keep watch for humans," Sans winked at his desk and left without waiting for a response. He walked silently across a riggidy bridge and slipped easily through the poorly constructed gate. Not like he had to move much: the gate was wide enough for even the fattest monster to pass through. Sans would've informed the builder of its faults, but he knew that his brother did it out of the best intentions.

Besides, everything Papyrus did was automatically cool in Sans eyes.

He continued down the snowy path, hearing the snow crunch under his pink slippers and the sound of rustling trees against the breeze. _Perfect day for a nap,_ Sans thought, nodding to himself. He scanned the potential areas for his rest as he walked. He considered stopping where he was and plopping face first into the path. A large pillow all to himself. "Then it would always be on the _cool_ side." Sans snickered, closing his eyes as he shook his head. Maybe, today would be a day for practicing jokes instead.

He opened his eyes. He knew exactly where to go now.

Instead of putting in effort to walk further, Sans called forth his magic and stepped into a void of blue crystals. They were scattered in a parallel pattern of symmetry that circled around Sans. With every other line, the direction of movement changed from upwards to downwards, in sync with the flow of time. It was here that Sans could use his "shortcuts". Only he knew how the patterns worked and where they all led. Apart from a certain few monsters, but one no longer existed. The other, Sans hoped, would never have to learn.

Sans found his desired location and entered through the pattern, coming back into reality within seconds. He was now in front of large purple door that embedded firmly against a wall; the borderline between Snowdin Forest and the Ruins. Above the door was an archway supported by two columns, showing the royal family insignia on the front of the stone. Normally no monster would come this far, in fear that if they came close, a human would appear and slaughter them to dust.

Sans used this place to practice his knock knock jokes.

He made himself comfortable by sitting in the snow and crossing his legs firmly under him. He began by knocking on the door twice and waited for a response. After a moment, he answered the joke himself, expecting this to happen. "Who's there?" he imagined the voice to be in different pitch than his own. He continued out loud.

"Guinea."

"Guinea who?"

"Guinea a break."

Sans imagined different scenarios of how they would react. They would either groan in annoyance, give a lighthearted chuckle, or even laugh out loud. Either way, he was amused by every reaction. And that made him smile a bit more.

He knocked twice again and continued on with his next joke:

"Who's there?" the inner voice would ask.

"Yukon."

"Yukon who?"

"Yukon say that again."

This went on for a while. Each joke Sans made helped him come up with new ones on the spot. Even though he was by himself, knocking to no one, he could tell he was on a roll today. After his 15th joke, he knocked once more and before he said his next line, a soft voice replied from the other side. A real one.

"Who is there?"

Sans blinked, taken aback for a moment. But naturally, he replied: "Dishes."

"Dishes who?"

"Dishes a very bad joke."

Suddenly, Sans heard a roar of laughter from the other side. Judging by the voice, he confirmed this was a woman he was talking to. He started to laugh himself out of shock and happiness. She must've really liked his joke.

He knocked again and she replied, still giggling from the last joke.

"Who is there?"

"Interrupting cow."

"Interrupting cow wh-"

"MOOO." Sans heard her laugh again and his pupils glistened, his smile growing just by her laugh. He kept going with his jokes, mixing the old with the new and each time he received an honest and hearty laugh from the woman. This was the best audience he ever had, and he hadn't seen her face! He forced himself to take a break when he heard her have a coughing fit, but she quickly informed him that she was alright, which made him relieved.

When he moved his hand for another knock, she knocked first from the other side. Intrigued, Sans answered.

"Who's there?"

"Old lady."

"Old lady who?"

"Oh! I did not know you could yodel!"

Now it was Sans turn to laugh. He fell onto his back in a fit of chuckles and his body shook. Wow, she was good. He wiped a tear that came out of his eye socket and got up to his knees, ready to keep the jokes going.

They told jokes to each other back and forth and each time they laughed in unison like they've been doing it for years. As time went by, Sans didn't have to look at his imaginary watch to know how late it was. Snowdin Forest had turned a few shades darker than when he came and that meant bedtime was around the corner. He wanted to stay longer, but he knew Papyrus wouldn't go to sleep unless he read him a story.

Reluctantly, Sans stood up and placed his hand on the door. "Hey, it's been fun, lady," he patted the door with a smile. "I gotta go." Sans turned to leave, but stopped as he heard her speak.

"Do you think you could come back tomorrow?" she asked.

Sans smile didn't go away as he turned his head back to the door. "Sure thing, miss." He gave the door a wave before taking his shortcut back home.

Sure enough, Sans returned the next day during his break and continued their joking like no time had passed. Then again the next. And again.

It was a thing now.

The great part about Sans returning to the door every day was that she was always there, ready to continue where they left off. It made him feel flattered that she was willing to listen to his puns. He guessed she had to sit on the floor as well during their time together, and he admired her dedication.

It was on a certain day that he finally asked what was on his mind in the form that he knew best. _Knock knock._

"Who is there?"

"May."

"May who?"

"May I have your name?"

It wasn't much of a joke, Sans knew this, but he still received a chuckle from her. At least she was honest about it. There was a pause and Sans feared he went too far, until she spoke again.

"My name is Toriel. What is yours?"

Sans felt his soul leap. "I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton," he smiled and leaned against the door. "Nice to meet you, Toriel." By this point, he could imagine a smile appear from behind the door. He couldn't explain it: he just knew.

"It's nice to meet you too, Sans." He heard Toriel move and he'd like to think that she leaned against the door as well. He decided that she did and felt content with the situation. He felt the urge to continue on with the jokes like normal, but found that he wanted to talk to her more.

"How is it in there?" he started off, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"It's not bad," Toriel replied, going silent for a moment. "Although it tends to get smaller every day."

"What do ya mean?"

"The Ruins is not meant for people to live in."

Sans raised an eyebrow. Or an imitation of one with his eye socket. "And you do?"

Toriel laughed softly. It sounded sad to Sans. "Correction; most people."

Sans hummed in response and he looked at the snow. "I guess I'm your only visitor, huh?"

"At the moment? Yes," she replied.

"Have there been more before?" Sans knew the answer already, but curiosity wanted a confirmation.

Silence. When Toriel replied, her voice turned sad. "Yes."

Sans closed his eyes and rested his head on the door. Of course there had been. He just didn't know if she had been involved. _I'm sorry_ , he wanted to say, but thought better of it. Instead, he tried to lighten the mood.

"Hey, I bet they had a ton of fun meeting you. A _skele_ -ton." Toriel laughed at the sudden pun and Sans relaxed, opening his eyes. _There we go_. "How's about I bring my brother over? I'll even bring my trusty trom- _bone_." Toriel laughed again and Sans heard her hand pound the door lightly in enthusiasm. Now she was happy again.

After Toriel calmed down, she took a breath and sighed. "I would love to see you both, Sans. But I have to tell you something." Her voice turned serious and Sans turned his head to listen in. "I can keep this door unlocked for a short time, but after that, I cannot allow it to be open for more than a few minutes."

"Then I'll knock when I get here. Like old times. Don't worry, Tori," Sans assured her and he stood up. He realized he used a nickname for her already, but it was too late to fix it. Toriel didn't seem to notice.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow? Like old times?" Toriel placed her hand on the door, a new feeling of hope rising in her soul.

Sans chuckled, resting his hand against the door. It was natural for him to do so now before he left.

"How can it be like old times… when tomorrow will be the first time I see you?"

Toriel smiled and Sans knew it.

"Good point," she said. With that, Sans disappeared, ready to tell Papyrus about his new friend.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 _Thank you for reading the first chapter to "Home"! I wanted to introduce the relationship between Sans and Toriel first before I got into the actual story, but I had a ton of fun writing this chapter! (Even though it literally took me like a week to write XD)_

 _If you liked this chapter, don't be afraid to share your thoughts and save this story! I love hearing feedback from you guys, and I promise to do my best on getting back to all of you._

 _Thank you again!_

 **GF**


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